Egg-tester.



PATENTED MAR. 10, 1908.

' B. 'GULVBR.

o N g (0 Q 2 o N I E- H v a m L wrrNEs sEs. $2 INVENTOFL UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIoE.

- EUGENE GULVER, or PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

EGG-TESTER.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, EUGENE CULV R, a resident of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvanisahave in- 5 vented a new and useful Improvement in E g-Tes ters; and I do hereby declare the fo lowing tobe a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to e g testers and to the brackets and shades incFudedin the construction of the same and used for like purposes.

The object of testing eg s is to determine as to whether they are fresh stale or bad, as to whether they have been held in cold storage, or are-newly laid; If held in cold storage, as to whether they have been subjected to heat, moisture or other damaging conditions either before or after being stored.

The customary way to test eggs is to hold them before a bright light in a dark room, the egg being in a measure transparent, an experiencedoperator isthus enabled to determinethe uality and character of the egg as the rays of ight pass through the egg body.

Eggs are usually shipped and handled in oases.- The operator opens the case, takes the eggs out and passes them before the light, sortin out the stale and bad, placin the assorte eggs in other cases, one 0 which is provided for each gradeas selects, firsts, seconds and bad, this process being known as candling the eggs. It is desirable in so candlin the eggs tohave the light so suspended t at it may be lowered over the case in proper position for 'candling and may be raised out of the way'to permit the operator to open or to renail the case and for the handling of the case upon the table or stand. During the candlin of the eggs it is necessary that the light sha 1 be roperly inclosed excepting one port in the out of the shade to permit the concentrated rays of.

' light to pass through the eggs when held in 45 front of the same". It is also desirable that the shade. shall beso arranged as to 0 en and give; light for the opening or -renail in g of the cases.

The. present invention provides afbracket and shade by which the light can be entirely vinclosed during the 'candhng, but by which the base of the shade can be automatically opened to give light for nailing when the lamp is raised out of the way.

-To these ends the invention consists in a bracket supporting the lamp and shade, a

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 16, 1906. Serial No. 343,736.

Patented March. 10, 1908.

bottom shutter and connections between the shutter and the bracket for closing and openng the shutter as theshade with its lamp 155 lowered or raised. In its preferred form the bracket is connected to. the wall andhas two parallel hinged arms one above and the other at the end of which "the shade is supported. The shutter is pivoted .or swungupon the shade and a link arm is connected both to the shutter and to the upper bracket so as to swing the shutter across the bottom of. the shade when the shade is lowered and swing it away from the bottom thereof when the shade is raised,

In the accompanying drawings Figure l is a perspective view'illustrating the e g cases on the stand and showing the sh'a e in its lowered position ready for candling; Fig- 2 is a side view showing the shade and bracket in the two different positions; Fig. 3 is a sideview partly broken away, showing the means provided for'ventilatmg the shade so as to prevent over-heating; F i 4 is a face view illustrating the adjusta le plate for changing the size of the candling port. of

the shade; and Fig. 5 IS a cross section on the line '55 Fig. 2. The egg cases 1, 2', are supported upon a suitable stand or table '3', the custom being to provide two' or moresuch cases, one the case containing the eggs to be examined, and the other the case to receive the fresh eggs. On

a suitable support is the bracket 4 which is shown as formed of two vertically parallel arms 5, 6, hinged to a wall su port 7- and extending over the table 3, t e shade 8 having the upper extension 9 which is pivoted to both. arms 5 and 6, so that during the swingin always held iii-vertical position. The shade 8 is' made of suitable sheet metal, being preferably bent from a single sheet was to provide the fiatfront face 10 in which is formed the testing port 11, the shade being bent. of

suitable slze and united bya joint 12, theextension 9 being formed of lips 9* bent from the shade body and extendingabove the same. At the upper end of this shade is formed an opening 13, through which the lamp 14 passes, and'the lower endof theshade is open as shown. The shutter '15 is bent tosha e to correspond to the base of the shade, the-rear portion of it being curved as shown at 16 in order to permit the swinging of the shutter over the base of the shade which is made to correspond to-such curved of the bracket, the shade is portion. The shutter has the arms 17 extending up along the side of the shade and pivoted at 18 a short-distance below the upper ends of the arms. Connected to the upper ends .22 of these arms 17 and to one of the brackets 5 or 6are the link arms 19,

shown as formed of a bent wire extending through the upper arm 6 of the bracket-and connected to each shutter arm 17. The lamp 14 is suspended to a flexible cord and rests within the shade 8, andwhen the shade is in lowest position, through the connection between the bracket and the armsof the shutter the shutter is drawn across the bottom opening of the shade, closing the same as illustrated .in. Fig. 1, and in full lines in Fig.

2, the shutter arms 8 striking against stops 21 on the shade body. When the shade is raised, through the upward swinging of the bracket the upper ends 22 of the shutter arms 17 are pushed forward, 'so drawing the shutter backward and awayfrom the base of the shade and permitting the light to shine downwardly upon the top of the cases, the device thus providing for the closing of the base of the shade when the lamp is in opera- .tive position for egg testing, so that there is no light shining from the base of the shade to trouble the eyes of the operator, but

automatically providing for the opening of the base of the shade when the shade is raised to give full light for the operations of openingthe egg case,.renailing and adjusting the same. To pro erly balance, the bracket an shade' an positions I provide a cord 31 passing over suitablepulleys 3'2 33, and havingasuitable weight-34 at the end thereof. In this opera tion of egg testing, while it is desirable that the shade shall be closed at the bottom, so

preventing any strong light interfering with the eyes of the operator, it isalso desirable to have sufficient light playing over the cases in which the assorted eggs are placed'to enable the operator to place the assorted eggs in said cases, and for that purpose I have formed in the side walls 23 of the case a-series of small light ports 24 adapted to throw small streams of light attheside of the shade and so provide sufficientdight for placing the assorted eggs in the cases.

In the operation of egg testing where the eggs are being graded, such as into selects,

firsts, seconds, and bad, it is necessary to examme each particular egg closely, and therefore to have a smaller testing port, so as to give a stronger and more concentratedlight,

than where the eggs are being only examined to separate the bad eggs from the good. For.

this purpose I- form the testing port 11 of com aratively large size, so that the operator can old several eggs in front of it at the same time; the custom being for him to take three eggs in each hand, and I provide an adhold it in the different desired justable testing plate 25 upon the front of the case having a smaller port 26 of proper size for grading the eggs, say, of proper size for the placing of a single egg in front of the same, this plate 25 being secured to the shade by a set screw 27. testing the heat of the lamp within the shade is liable to become excessive unless it is properly ventilated, as the bottom shutter 15 prevents any passage of air up within the shade. To prevent this I provide a topventi- During the operation of lator to the shade, which permits the air to enter within the port 11 and to rise around the lamp and esca e at the top thereof. For this purpose I ma ke the top opening of the shade 13 sufiiciently lar e to permit of such ventilation and provi e a supplemental shade late 28 extending over this top 0 Jening an forming a rest for the lam swltc i, as shown particu arly in Fig.3, 1; is supple mental shade plate being closed atthe front as at 29 and having ventilating openings 30 at the sides and rear, so that the air can rise around the lamp andpass out above without any light being reflected forward at the top of the shade to interfere with the eyes of the opopening the shade, and connections between the bracket and shadefor closing and opening the shade as it is lowered and raised.

3. An egg tester comprising a lam and a shade having a testing ort, a hinge arm supporting the lamp and shade,- a bottom shutter, and connections between the hinged arm and shutter for opening and closing the same as the tester is lowered and raised.

4. An egg tester comprising a lamp and shade having a testing port, two parallel hinged arms supportingthe tester in vertical position, a bottom shutter pivoted to the shade, and a link connecting the shutter and one of the bracket arms.

5. An egg tester having a lamp and a shade having a testing ort, a bracket formed of two hinged arms, t e shade of the tester being supported in vertical position thereby, a bottom shutter having one or more arms pivoted on the shade, and a link connected to said shutter arm and to one of the bracket arms.

. In testimony whereof, l the said EUGENE CULVER have hereunto set my hand.

EUGENE CULVER. Witnesses ROBERT C. ToT'TEN, JOHN F. WILL. 

